GoPro captures turtle’s-eye-view of the Great Barrier Reef

A campaign by WWF Australia shows what amazing footage it's possible to capture with a GoPro camera, while raising awareness of the plight of the Reef

In an effort to understand the post-release behaviour of tagged turtles, WWF Australia very carefully attached a small GoPro camera to one’s back and in doing so captured some amazing footage.

The ‘turtle’s-eye-view’ video above shows off life on the Great Barrier Reef from the perspective of a member of one of the 6,000 species that reside there, all of which are currently under threat from pollution.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches for 2,000km (1,200 miles) along the coast of Australia, and is the world’s largest living ecosystem.

WWF Australia has organised an extensive list of partners for its campaign, including Banrock Station Wines Environmental Trust, James Cook University, The University of Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, State and Commonwealth government agencies, Indigenous rangers and local community groups.

It is hoping to draw attention to the continued dumping of pollutants that has damaged the Reef in recent years.

Action camera on animal is, of course, a rich and noble tradition. The internet has in the past been wowed by such hits as GoPro on eagle, GoPro on cat, and GoPro on lonely German shepherd, but getting a chance to see a sea turtle relaxing in its natural habitat is definitely an unexpected treat.

Yesterday the Great Barrier Reef was spared an ‘in danger’ listing by the United Nations heritage body UNESCO, which means that it does not qualify for ‘protected’ status.